


Only Skin Deep

by TheAsexualofSpades



Series: Quarantine Drabbles [71]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Anti-Android Language (Detroit: Become Human), Anti-Android Sentiments (Detroit: Become Human), Banter, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gavin Reed Being Less of an Asshole, Gavin Reed Being an Asshole, Gavin Reed Not Being an Asshole, Gavin's cat is named Mia, Gen, Gun Violence, Hurt/Comfort, Insecure RK900, Light Angst, M/M, Protective Gavin Reed, RK900 is named Nines, Self-Doubt, Self-Esteem Issues, can be platonic or romantic you decide, it's a slow progression but we get there, it's not quite Zlatko levels but it's not super nice, light amounts of android body horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:34:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24525475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAsexualofSpades/pseuds/TheAsexualofSpades
Summary: Gavin Reed, one of the most vocal anti-android members of the DPD, has the RK900, Nines, assigned as his partner. The two of them work well together, but Nines can't ignore Detective Reed's dislike of androids. He attempts to minimize anything that might remind him too overtly of their differences.Or, five times Nines hid something about his android self, and one time he didn't have to hide anymore.
Relationships: Connor & Upgraded Connor | RK900, Hank Anderson & Upgraded Connor | RK900, Tina Chen & Gavin Reed, Upgraded Connor | RK900 & Gavin Reed, Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Series: Quarantine Drabbles [71]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1677655
Comments: 21
Kudos: 427





	Only Skin Deep

**Author's Note:**

> i saw this post on tumblr and went I MUST WRITE IT
> 
> there's now a part 2!!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/24646525

Fandom: DBH

Prompt: “Do you ever mean the things you say?”

<https://one-irrelevant-ghost.tumblr.com/post/183952263444/the-fact-that-both-hank-and-gavin-were-known-to>

* * *

**1:**

“Hey, dipshit!"

Nines doesn’t respond, still sorting through the files on his desk. He can hear Detective Reed tapping insistently on his coffee cup, waiting impatiently.

“Hey, I’m talking to you, asshole!”

“Really,” Nines says, still not looking up, “then you would think you would use my name.”

“Very funny.”

There’s a moment of silence before a wadded-up piece of paper hits Nines in the face. The impact isn’t enough to make him flinch but it is enough to make him finally look up at Detective Reed, sitting with a self-satisfied grin on his face.

“Yes?”

“You get the brief about the bust tonight?”

“As a matter of fact, I did,” Nines says smoothly, looking back at his terminal, “it is what I was working on before you decided to so rudely interrupt me.”

“Hmph. Well, if you weren’t such a stuck up prick, I wouldn’t have to.”

“I highly doubt my changing anything would lead to you changing your own behavior.”

“Well, you’re gonna have to do it tonight,” Detective Reed sighs, leaning back in his chair and propping his feet up on the desk despite Nines’ glare, “lose some of that android-y-ness.”

**_Detective Reed: Anti-Android._ **

Detective Reed doesn’t seem to notice Nines’ momentary pause in typing, nor that his LED cycles yellow once.

“At the very least you can stop lookin’ down on all of us,” he scoffs, “you gotta at least _pretend_ you ain’t so much of a prick.”

“I cannot do that.”

“The hell you can, you prick. Ain’t Cyberlife programmed you to be able to do all sorts of shit? Or is being an asshole so embedded in your protocols or whatever?”

Nines sighs. “No, Detective Reed, I physically cannot lower my head the way you want me to.”

Detective Reed frowns, setting down his coffee cup. “Wait, why not?”

Nines taps the thick black collar around his neck. “My uniform is designed to be posture correcting to maintain professionalism and ensure the proper respect is given. I cannot lower my head like that without applying significant pressure to my vocal modulator.”

Detective Reed’s boots hit the floor with a loud _thud._ “Shit, really? What the actual fuck?”

Before Nines can say another word, he’s on his feet, coming around to Nines’ side of the desk and shoving him roughly against the back of his chair.

**[ ] Reason**

**[ ] Defend**

**[ ] Fight**

But Detective Reed doesn’t go to hit him. Instead, his hands fiddle with Nines’ collar, tearing open the flap of fabric to find the hidden buttons and all but ripping it off. Nines gasps as the pressure under his chin releases, reaching up to carefully feel the indentation of where the sharp point at the apex of the collar dug into his chin. The sensation is so foreign it takes a moment for him to register that Detective Reed has not returned to his side of the desk.

“Fucking androids,” Detective Reed mutters, still glaring at Nines, “fucking Cyberlife.”

**[ ] Thank**

**[ ] Ask**

“Don’t wear that shit anymore,” Detective Reed snarls, throwing the collar onto Nines’ desk and stomping back around to his own, throwing himself into his chair and turning his glare towards the computer.

Nines’ hand lingers under his chin for a moment longer. Detective Reed’s mood has shifted; he is angry at a state where he will not talk.

**Stress Levels 21%**

He doesn’t wear the collar, nor the rest of his uniform to the bust. Detective Reed’s attitude improves for the duration of the night. Connor and Hank are happy when he stops wearing the collar altogether.

* * *

**2.**

Nines escorts the cuffed suspect into the back of the police car, watching as it pulls away smoothly towards the heart of the city. He tilts his head to watch it turn the corner and disappear. Panting breaths come from behind him. He turns.

“Ah, Detective Reed. There you are.”

“Fuck…fuck off, you…plastic prick,” Detective Reed pants, leaning over with his hands on his thighs, trying to catch his breath. “ _Fuck,_ I hate the taste of blood.”

**Stress Levels 30%**

“Hey,” Detective Reed protests when Nines yanks him upright, scanning for any sign of injury, “what the fuck are you doing?”

**Scanning…**

**[ ] No external injuries**

**[ ] No internal bleeding**

**[ ] Elevated heart rate**

**Conclusion: uninjured, overexerted.**

“Perhaps you should consider adjusting your fitness regime,” Nines says, letting Detective Reed tear his arm away, “if you wish to keep up.”

“Fuck off, tin can,” Detective Reed snarls, “we can’t all be _androids._ ”

**_Detective Reed: Anti-Android_ **

**_[X] No collar_ **

“Stop fucking staring at me.”

Nines blinks. “My apologies, Detective, I did not realize—“

“Yeah, yeah, stuff it.” Detective Reed glances over Nines’ shoulder to where the car vanished. “Shit…how’d the car know to meet us here? Chase started fucking _miles_ away.”

“All the cars are synced to the DPD network,” Nines explains, “I anticipated the trajectory the suspect would take and stationed the car at the intercept point.”

Detective Reed stares at him. “You…you can _do_ that?”

Nines frowns, tilting his head. “Yes. Does this surprise you?”

Detective Reed doesn’t respond, just shakes his head and mutters under his breath.

“Fucking androids.”

**Scanning.**

**Warning: thirium pump irregularity detected. Please report to Cyberlife station to—**

Nines cuts the warning off abruptly, shoving it away from his HUD. The detective’s designation does not vanish.

“Stop it with the fucking light show.”

Nines blinks to see Detective Reed glaring at his temple. Ah. With the stress of the chase, the possibility that Detective Reed might be injured, and the reaffirming of his status as firmly anti-android, Nines can’t imagine what his LED must be doing.

“My apologies, Detective,” he tries, but it’s too late. Detective Reed has already turned away, muttering into his radio about what to do next.

**_Updating…_ **

**_Detective Reed: Anti-Android_ **

**_[X] No collar_ **

**_[ ] Limited exposure to LED_ **

“Alright,” Detective Reed says, “come on. They want us back at the scene. There’s evidence they want us to look at.”

He glances over his shoulder, scowling when he doesn’t see Nines. “Hey, tin can, where the fuck did you go?”

“I’m right here.”

Detective Reed jumps, whirling around to see Nines on his other side. “Jesus _Christ,_ tin can, don’t fucking do that.”

“My apologies, Detective,” Nines says, turning to start walking back to the crime scene, “it was not my intention to scare you.”

“You didn’t scare me,” Detective Reed mutters, hustling to catch up.

“No, I’m sure you jump two feet into the air of your own free will.”

“Shut the fuck up.”

Nines hides a smile, careful to keep Detective Reed on his left side, so as not to subject the man to seeing his LED spin. If Detective Reed is confused as to why Nines always insists on staying on his right, he doesn’t say anything. At the very least, his attitude seems to improve a little more.

**_Conclusion: avoiding things that will remind Detective Reed that he works with an android is beneficial to the working relationship._ **

* * *

**3.**

“Damn, bitch, you live like this?”

Nines frowns as Detective Reed shoves his way past Nines into his apartment, looking around like he’s never seen it before. Which, to be fair, he hasn’t, but it’s not as if the inside of an apartment should be so foreign to him.

“When they said they were gonna let androids own their own property,” Detective Reed mutters, “this wasn’t what I thought they meant.”

Nines ignores the repeated pang in his thirium pump—he’s gotten used to them now, especially around Detective Reed—in favor of looking around his apartment.

It’s not that bad, is it? It’s a set of two rooms, a ‘living room,’ so to speak, where he has one small couch, a coffee table, and a bookshelf upon which is the few physical books Hank gave him as a ‘move-in’ present. His wardrobe stands in the corner by the window. The other room is the bathroom he does not use, except for the mirror and the medicine cabinet of the emergency kits and the pouches of thirium. He keeps it clean, there are no egregious piles of…anything and the place is small. Far too small to be comfortable for most humans.

“Is there a problem, Detective?”

“Uh, yeah.” Detective Reed spins around slowly, peering into the bathroom before glaring at Nines. “Why the fuck do you live in a broom closet?”

“I can assure you, Detective, that this is _not_ a broom closet.”

“You know what I mean.” He flaps a hand. “There’s barely enough room to breathe in here, it’s _tiny._ ”

“I do not need much.” Nines shuts the door. “And it leaves the larger apartments free for those who do.”

**Scanning…**

**[ ] Furrowed brow**

**[ ] Twisted mouth**

**[ ] Hands clenched into fists**

**Conclusion: Wrong thing to say.**

“We’re not working here,” Detective Reed mutters, shouldering roughly past Nines and wrenching the door open. “Come on. We’re going to my place.”

Nines follows the detective down to his car, locking the door behind them. Detective Reed is silent for the drive, leaving Nines to look out the window and watch the people outside walk by. Luckily, his position in the passenger seat hides his LED from Detective Reed, which is fortunate as he’s sure it’s spinning wildly.

“We’re here,” Detective Reed mumbles, parking the car and tromping up the stairs to another apartment building. Nines follows him to his own door, thanking him as he pushes it open. “Yeah, yeah, just come in.”

Detective Reed’s apartment is, to put it mildly, a mess. There are clothes draped over the back of the couch, a stack of dishes in the sink, and what appear to be cat toys everywhere.

“Mia!”

A soft purr comes from what Nines assumes is the bedroom. He turns, watching a small, brown tabby walk delicately out from behind the door, taking a seat just outside and licking one front paw.

“Bitch cat,” Detective Reed mutters, tossing the files from his car onto the table, “you know you’re not allowed in there when I’m not home.”

Mia, it seems, does not care, simply switches her tail back and forth before walking to the table, jumping on top and batting at the papers.

“No, you bitch, get off.” Detective Reed pushes at the cat. She dodges the first one and swipes back, her claws out. “Hey! Don’t you fucking swipe at me!”

Nines watches in amusement as Detective Reed picks up Mia and drops her on the ground. The cat simply shakes her head and trots off. “Does that not hurt?”

“Hmm? Oh, she’s fucking peachy,” Detective Reed mutters, taking a seat at the table and motioning for Nines to do the same. “If you try to help her down she gets all pissy.”

“…I see.”

Detective Reed glances up at him. “Anderson’s got a dog, right?”

Nines blinks. “That’s right.”

“It ain’t like having a dog. You gotta help _them_ do everything.” Detective Reed opens the first file, then smiles to himself and snorts. “Fuck, you can bowl a cat.”

“I wouldn’t advise doing that.”

“Well, if Mia fucking pissed on my sheets again, we’ll fucking see.”

“Mm. And how often do you make threats like that?”

“Few times a week,” Detective Reed shrugs, turning the page, “not that she ever fucking listens.”

Nines can’t help but note the small current of fondness underlying the detective’s words. He doesn’t dare call him out on it, but he tucks the piece of information into himself, savoring it for later. There are not many parts of Detective Reed’s caring nature that he is privy to; he will see him kneeling down to comfort a scared child, see the determined lie of his mouth as he tends to another officer’s injury, and on _very_ rare occasions, he will catch the detective with a fond smile on his face as he looks around the precinct. These times are rare, few and far between, but Nines cherishes every one he can get.

“You just gonna stare at me all day, tin can, or are we gonna get to work?”

Nines blinks, snapping out of his daze to see the detective staring at him, one eyebrow raised. His tone is not angry, nor exasperated. Just curious.

“My apologies, Detective Reed.”

The other man rolls his eyes, pushing a file toward him. “We’re not at the precinct, Nines, you can call me Gavin.”

**_Updating_ …**

**_Gavin: Anti-Android_**

**_[X] No collar_ **

**_[X] Limited exposure to LED_ **

**_[ ] No interactions in apartment_ **

When Nines walks into his apartment after work the next day, he pauses when he sees a houseplant perched on his windowsill. Walking over, he carefully lifts the note attached to the pot.

_Don’t fucking kill this thing, it was way too expensive for one shitty houseplant —GR_

Nines smiles, only for it to fade when he realizes what must have happened.

Gavin knows that androids have no use for this type of non-practical home décor, but it is likely that he will come to Nines’ apartment at some point. Perhaps this will help ease the fact that he is walking into the apartment of an android.

Nines lets this fact prompt him to take good care of the plant.

* * *

**4.**

“Sick fucks,” Gavin mutters, staring down at the mess in the basement, his flashlight glinting off the white chassis littering the ground, “that’s just fucking _disgusting._ ”

“It is…unnerving,” Nines agrees, glancing around.

They’ve been tracking this suspect for a month now, following reports of missing androids or those that’ve had their limbs hacked off. Each time they think they’re getting close, they fumble at the last second and the suspect gets away. Not this time. This time, they’ve got a perimeter set up around the building, jammers in place, officers swarming the whole thing. Nines and Gavin decided to take the basement, a decision he’s not so sure was the right one.

“Watch out,” Gavin barks, yanking Nines back from a stair about to collapse. Nines grips the detective’s elbow in thanks, making his way safely to the bottom and reaching up to help Gavin down. “This guy’s _fucking_ lost it.”

There are shattered, mangled pieces of android bodies strewn across the floor, the white chassis splattered with thirium and broken bits of metal twisting out of them.

“Nines,” Gavin mutters urgently, “ _Nines._ ”

“What?”

“Look. Over there.” Gavin points to a pile, where an android’s torso has been thrown. It’s covered in thirium. “S'at blue blood?”

Nines looks, his thirium pump twisting when he sees how mangled the android is. “Yes, I see it.”

“Well, how fucking long does it take thirium to evaporate?”

Oh. _Oh._

“A few hours,” Nines mutters, looking around the rest of the basement, “which means—“

“Which means the fucker ain’t getting away this time,” Gavin finishes, nudging the arm near his foot with the tip of his boot. “Serves ‘em right.”

Nines fumbles with the flashlight for a split-second. Even now…he’d been doing so _well._ And yet here, in the basement littered with the corpses of his people, he suddenly feels the sharpness of the rift between him and his human partner.

“Hey,” Gavin says, bumping his arm, “what’s up, tin can? You’re all red.”

Shit. He’d forgotten to keep Gavin on the right side.

“The thirium is strongest over here,” he says instead, ignoring Gavin’s confused look when he insists on moving to his other side, “this carnage is the freshest.”

There’s a sharp _clunk_ from the other side of the basement, in front of them, in the darkness.

They freeze.

Nines raises his head, taking advantage of his infrared scanners to peer into the darkness.

There are more carcasses, littering the floor, a trail of thirium leading toward the back.

A heat signature.

“Detective Reed,” Nines whispers, “I can see him.”

At his shoulder, he feels Gavin crouch slowly, murmuring very quietly into his radio. “All units, we have eyes on the suspect. He’s in the basement, northwest corner. Cover the exits, be prepared if the subject tries to run.”

Nines doesn’t take his eyes off the suspect, who seems to be trying to hug the walls, make his way to the back door.

“He’s headed for the exit,” Nines murmurs, “have officers stationed bust outside.”

“You thinking we flush him out?”

“Precisely.”

“On three, ready?”

Nines raises himself into a better crouch, Gavin mirroring his movements. “One…two…three.”

“Hey,” Gavin shouts as they raise their flashlights, “stop right there, Detroit Police!”

As planned, the suspect runs, Nines and Gavin giving chase as they leap over the bodies littering the floor. The suspect tries to stop them, flinging things over his shoulder, obscuring their path. Nines dodges the projectiles, pushing the fact that _these are android body parts_ to the back of his HUD.

“Ow! Son of a bitch!”

Nines glances over his shoulder to see Gavin go down. He looks back at the suspect with renewed vigor and _dives_ after him. The suspect crashes through the door—

—into the waiting arms of Officer Chen and the others. Nines slows when he sees they have him, returning to Gavin’s side, crouching down.

**Scanning…**

**No visible injuries detected.**

“Are you alright?”

Gavin doesn’t reply, staring down at the thing in his lap. It’s an android head. It looks like it’s been ripped off. Its eyes are open. Its LED is cracked. Its chassis is scuffed.

“Gavin?”

Gavin shakes his head, still staring at the android head in his lap. “…it’s not fucking _right.”_

Nines ignores the very persistent twinge in his thirium pump and extends a hand, carefully pulling Gavin to his feet. Gavin’s eyes don’t leave the head until Nines gently guides his gaze away.

“We have the suspect, Detective,” Nines says quietly, “he will be brought to justice.”

Gavin blinks at him a few times before roughly removing himself from Nines’ grip. He vanishes out the door, still mumbling about how it’s not right. Nines watches him go, before leaning down and carefully picking up the head.

It looks wrong. It hurts.

As he watches, his mouth drops open in horror.

**Stress Levels 45%**

His skin is receding, the tips of his fingers, then his hands, then his whole arm up to where his shirt ends revealing the bone-white of his chassis. The android head hits the ground with a lifeless _thunk._

His hands don’t change back until he takes a deep breath and concentrates all of his processing power on getting it back.

**_Updating…_ **

_**Gavin: Anti-Android** _

_**[X] No collar** _

_**[X] Limited exposure to LED** _

_**[X] No interactions in apartment** _

_**[ ] Do not deactivate artificial skin** _

* * *

**5.**

Nines is malfunctioning.

He knows he can’t deactivate his skin around Gavin, he knows it. Reminding Gavin that he is an android makes their relationship suffer, and Gavin is far too important for Nines to allow that. His current objective seems to be working; he has been invited to the detective’s apartment more often, the detective’s tone has been noticeably warmer towards him as of late, and the other officers have started to notice. He must continue.

But he is malfunctioning.

An android’s chassis is more sensitive when the artificial skin is not activated; the thin layer of liquid prevents the finest levels of stimulation from registering against the sensors. It’s why he and Connor take the most precise measurements when they peel back the skin on their hands, why androids can only interface without the skin activated. It’s why it’s such an intimate gesture.

Nines is not too proud to say he enjoys physical contact with Gavin. He enjoys the reassurance it gives him, that his detective is alive and well, safe and sound. He enjoys the companionship it gives him, the knowledge that he has a partner that will watch his back. He enjoys Gavin.

He does not enjoy the fact that his protocols have taken this as permission to deactivate his skin wherever Gavin touches him.

For the most part, he is safe. The majority of their contact is through clothing, where the bone-white chassis is hidden behind layers of fabric. Nines did not even notice this was happening at first, simply attributing the faint tingle as not be accustomed to the contact, only realizing it when Gavin left his apartment one day with a pat on his arm that lasted longer than usual, and Nines had taken off his jacket to reveal a white patch on his arm. He resolved to keep his jacket on. The other good thing is that they do not last long. A bump here, a playful shove there, a nudge here. They are not long enough to deactivate a significant portion of Nines’ skin.

But sometimes their fingers will brush when exchanging cups of coffee. Sometimes Gavin’s head will drop onto Nines’ shoulder on long nights, to top of his head just brushing the underside of Nines’ jaw. Sometimes Gavin will pat Nines’ cheek. He has no idea why.

Gavin touches him. And if he keeps touching him, Nines will have no control over how much he reveals to Gavin that he is an android.

He does not want to change. He does not want to change. He does not want to change.

But when Gavin falls asleep on his shoulder one night, his head tucked neatly under Nines’ jaw and all Nines can think of is if he had the collar, this wouldn’t be an issue because he wouldn’t be able to feel the slight roughness of Gavin’s hair against his skin, nor the warm puffs of his breath, he knows. When he glances at the glass divider and sees their reflection, Gavin peacefully asleep on him and half of Nines’ face turning white, he knows.

Slowly, carefully, he moves the detective, cherishing the feeling of his weight in Nines’ arms, leaning him carefully against the desk and tucking the coat under his head as a pillow, Nines pulls away. He stands up slowly, looking at his sleeping detective. He looks at his hands, at his face, willing his skin to come back. When the disguise is complete, he walks with silent steps back to Gavin’s side of the desk, and goes back to work, sneaking glances at the sleeping man.

He starts turning away more often, keeping his jacket on, folding his hands behind his back. He makes his tone no less warm, his support no less strong, but he shies away from the touches. They’ve worked so hard for this, he won’t ruin it now.

He should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy.

“Fucking _bastard!”_

Nines shoves Gavin’s shoulder down behind the car, glancing through the window before ducking away just in time to avoid the shattering glass.

“We need backup,” Gavin’s yelling into his radio, “shooter on the corner of—“

Another bullet shattering the window cuts him off, Nines aiming around the corner and firing. The suspect ducks behind a piece of drywall. Gavin’s radio crackles. Nines squints. Why isn’t the suspect shooting again?

**Scanning…**

“He’s running,” Nines mutters, holstering his gun and getting up, “down the street.”

“Fucking—hey, Nines, what the fuck are you doing?”

“Tell them to meet me two blocks over!”

“Nines, get the fuck back here!”

Nines doesn’t listen, already giving chase. There are some advantages to being an android. For one, he can dodge the cars a hell of a lot better than the suspect can. For another, where the suspect hesitates in making the jump across the ravine, he does not.

“Damnit, Nines!” Gavin’s voice rings in his head. “Where the fuck are you going?”

For a third, he’s not out of breath as he reports to Gavin, still doggedly after their suspect. They make a mad dash for an alleyway. A chokepoint. He tells Gavin to meet them on the other side and dashes in, watching the suspect falter when the escape routes narrow drastically.

“Freeze!”

He ducks out of the way when the suspect shoots at him again. Pulling out his own gun, he keeps in lowered, hoping he won’t have to use it.

“You don’t have anywhere to run,” he calls, “drop your weapon!”

The bullet bouncing off the cover right next to his head shows what the suspect thinks of that.

“Freeze!”

Backup. Thank ra9. Nines peers out to see more officers, emerging from his hiding spot with his own weapon holstered.

A shot.

Distantly, he hears the sounds of the suspect being taken into custody, but his vision is obscured by the warnings popping up in his HUD.

Yes, thank you, he knows he’s been shot. Kindly fuck off, now.

Another advantage is he’s got a much higher likelihood of surviving a shot like this. The plastic is torn, seared at the edges, revealing the circuits and biocomponents, thirium leaking everywhere. He presses his hands to the wound, his skin peeling back in an effort to conserve power until he can be repaired properly. He sits back against the wall, leaning his head against the brick.

“Nines!”

No. No, _fuck._

_ **Stress Levels: 87%** _

Frantically, Nines tries to get his skin back when he hears Gavin’s enraged voice but it’s too late. He doesn’t have the power. He scrambles for cover, only to realize it’s all useless. Humans don’t bleed blue.

“Nines! Nines, holy shit, you better not die on me, you prick.”

Gavin’s hands are warm against his bare chassis, but Nines barely has the processing power to savor it, too busy worrying about all the rules he’s breaking. His LED is bright red. His chassis is exposed. His thirium is leaking everywhere. The only things that are good are that he isn’t wearing the collar and they’re nowhere near his apartment.

“Nines! _Nines!”_

“Gavin…”

“Shh, shh,” Detective Reed says, eyes wild as he rips off his jacket and presses it to Nines’ abdomen, “don’t talk, you’re gonna fuck yourself up. You stay with me, you understand? You don’t fucking go nowhere.”

“Double…negative…”

“Shut the fuck up, you plastic asshole,” Gavin growls, pushing harder.

**_Warning: levels of thirium are dangerously low._ **

Nines closes his eyes.

“Nines?” Gavin’s voice sounds like it’s underwater. “Stay with me, you hear? You stay with me. Nines? _Nines!_ ”

* * *

**+1.**

Gavin’s been walking on eggshells around him ever since he got shot. He won’t respond to any of Nines’ quips, won’t take the bait, doesn’t even grunt when Nines places a cup of coffee at his elbow. He’s perfectly polite, gets all his paperwork in on time, even stops putting his feet on the desk.

It’s awful.

Nines knows he failed. He reminded Detective Reed he is an android. He doesn’t like it.

The others notice because of _course,_ they do. Connor is the only one bold enough to ask Detective Reed directly when he thinks Nines is too far away to hear. He isn’t. He hears Detective Reed brush Connor off, telling him not to worry, muttering something about ‘tin cans sticking their plastic noses where they shouldn’t’ as he walks away.

Strangely enough, Nines still gets invited to Detective Reed’s apartment to work a case. He sits carefully at the table, looking over the files, existing in the silence that would normally be occupied by teasing remarks and hidden smiles. Now it is just frowns of concentration and silence.

“ _Mrrp._ ”

“Go away, Mia,” Gavin mutters, nudging the cat out of the way with his foot, “I’m busy.”

“ _Mrrp._ ”

“No, it’s not time for you to eat yet. Fuck off.”

There are a few little taps of her claws walking across the floorboards, then there’s a weight in Nines’ lap. He looks down to see Mia turn in circles, walking around on his legs, before settling down in his lap, looking up at him as if to dare him to dislodge her.

Nines tilts his head. He doesn’t mind. And perhaps…perhaps he can make this more comfortable.

Mia purrs when he warms his skin, stretching lazily in his lap. He smiles, reaching down to carefully stroke her fur. She purrs louder, curling around his hand.

“You’ll spoil her.”

Nines looks up to see Gavin watching him with a strange expression on his face. He shrugs.

“I do not mind. She is…a good companion.”

Gavin shakes his head slowly. “Fucking androids.”

Mia hisses when his hand tenses. He pats her in apology, turning quickly back to the case files.

“Hey.”

He looks up. Gavin’s frowning at him. “Yes?”

“What’s wrong?”

He blinks. “Excuse me?”

“You.” Gavin waves at him. “What’s wrong?”

Oh. He really shouldn’t be surprised, Gavin _is_ a detective. He should provide some explanation, some sort of apology and all that. He readies an explanation about everything, chalking it up to not really being used to recovery like this. What comes out of his mouth is none of these.

“Do you ever mean the things you say?”

Gavin frowns at him. “Huh?”

“The…the things about androids,” Nines says, resigning himself to telling the whole story, “the parts about us not being right…and everything.”

“Nines, what the fuck are you talking about?” Gavin just looks confused.

“You say it all the time,” Nines defends weakly, “I’m pretty sure ‘fucking androids,’ ‘plastic asshole,’ and ‘tin can’ are the most popular phrases in your vocabulary.”

“Where the hell is this coming from, Nines?”

“I—“

Nines looks away, knowing it’s going to reveal his bright red LED but not caring enough. Mia turns over in his lap.

“I know you have a history of being anti-android,” he mumbles, “and I have tried to…accommodate. I stopped wearing the collar, I changed my behaviors, I…I enjoy working with you, Gavin, really I do, but…”

Mia bats his hand.

“But I am an android,” he finishes, finally looking back at Gavin, “and I…I can’t change that. I won’t be angry if you decide you’d rather have a human partner,” he says quickly when Gavin opens his mouth, “I just…wanted to know where you stand.”

“…Jesus Christ, Nines,” Gavin mutters, still staring at him, “is that why you…”

Nines frowns. “Why I what?”

“Why you don’t let me get close to you anymore?”

Nines nods, ashamed. “When you touch me, my…my skin deactivates. You would see that I’m…”

“Not human.”

He nods.

“Fuck.”

Nines agrees wholeheartedly. He focuses on playing with Mia, letting her bat playfully at his fingers. Gavin stirs.

“That also why you _insist_ on walking on one side a’ me?”

“You don’t like my ‘LED light show.’”

“And why you wanna work here instead of at yours?”

“You…you said my apartment was a broom closet.”

“Is that why you…” There’s a pause as Gavin swallows. “Is that why you pulled away from me when you got shot?”

“Humans don’t bleed blue,” Nines murmurs, “and androids have a higher likelihood of surviving those types of wounds than humans.”

“Is that why you’re so fucking reckless all the time?”

Nines doesn’t flinch at the anger in Gavin’s voice but it’s close. “You would be hurt in ways that would not be easily fixed. I can be replaced.”

“No, you can’t.”

Nines’ head snaps up. “What?”

Gavin’s staring at him, that strange expression on his face again. “No,” he repeats, “you can’t be replaced. ‘Cause then it wouldn’t be _you._ ”

“I…I don’t understand.”

Gavin sighs, standing slowly. “I didn’t like you wearin’ the collar because that thing was fucking barbaric, not that you were an android. I don’t like it when your LED goes fucking balls to the wall because it means you’re upset.”

As he speaks, he comes around the table, eyes never leaving Nines’.

“I don’t like the fact that your apartment is so fucking tiny because _no one_ should have an apartment that small.” Gavin snorts. “I think my college dorm room was bigger than that thing.”

Everything is wrong. What is happening? Nines’ HUD is blaring.

“But…at the crime scene,” he tries, “with all the bodies, you were…you said it ‘serves them right.’”

“What?” Gavin’s face contorts. “No, Nines, I said the fact that the sick fuck that _did_ that shit wasn’t gonna get away with it serves _him_ right. No one should be able to get away with doing that sick twisted shit.”

“…the head…you said it wasn’t right—“

“Because I couldn’t stop seeing yours!” Gavin explodes, raking his hands through his hair. “Because that freak chucked a head at me like it was a piece of garbage and all I could see was your stupid fucking decapitated head in my goddamn lap!”

Oh. _Oh._

Gavin shakes his head, lowering his hands and looking back at Nines. “I’m not proud of my actions before the revolution. Hell, I ain’t proud of some of ‘em now. But I promise, Nines,” he says, leaning forward, “I wouldn’t _ever_ be okay with something like that.”

Nines’ head spins. Everything, every conclusion, every objective is overturned with each word that comes out of Gavin’s mouth. He clings to Mia in his lap, his fingers starting to tremble.

“So…when I got shot,” he says slowly, “and you were angry…”

“It was ‘cause some bastard shot my partner,” Gavin says, “and I wasn’t gonna take that lying down.”

Nines can’t speak. Gavin seems to take advantage of it, taking a step closer.

“You ain’t replaceable,” he says firmly, “you may be a plastic asshole, but you’re _my_ plastic asshole, you got that?”

Nines nods, still shaken from this massive paradigm shift. Gavin smirks at his speechlessness, looking down at Mia still in Nines’ lap. “She likes you.”

“I like her too,” Nines replies automatically, still staring at Gavin. “Detective—“

“You know better than that,” Gavin says, giving him a look.

“Gavin,” Nines amends, “I’m sorry, I—“

Gavin cuts him off with a wave of his hand. “I don’t need that. You don’t have to apologize, I know I’m an asshole. I’m working on it, okay? And you’re helping.”

“I am?”

Gavin narrows his eyes at him. “You been paying attention? ‘Cause the rest of the precinct has. Pretty sure Tina thinks we’re fucking.”

“Wh-what?”

Gavin bursts out laughing, leaning over the table, clutching his sides. “Holy shit, your face! God, I wish I had my camera.”

Nines is too busy watching Gavin laugh. Little wrinkles appear around the corners of his eyes, the ones on his forehead disappearing. He looks younger. Content.

“Relax,” Gavin teases, hitting his shoulder, “I told her we weren’t. But seriously Nines, I’m less of an asshole. That’s thanks to you.”

Nines just nods. Another look crosses Gavin’s face.

“You still don’t believe me, do you?”

“I’m sorry,” Nines says quickly, “it’s just—“

“Hard to believe I’m not that much of a dick?” Gavin tosses him a wink. “’S okay. Not like I blame you. Here, gimme your hand.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” Gavin says, wiggling his fingers in front of Nines. “Gimme your hand.”

Nines looks at his face, seeing nothing deceitful, and carefully raises his hand, placing it in Gavin’s. He channels all of his energy into keeping his skin in place. Mia whines when her heat disappears.

“Don’t do that,” Gavin says, noticing how hard Nines is concentrating, “lemme see.”

Nines looks at him in disbelief. Gavin just smiles and gives Nines’ hand a squeeze. “Let me see,” he repeats softly.

Nines takes a deep breath and lets it go, his skin fading into the white of his chassis. He expects any second for Gavin to pull away, suddenly realizing how _other_ Nines is, remembering that he’s anti-android for a reason—

“That’s fucking sick.”

Nines blinks. Gavin holds up their hands, looking at the white twisted with the color of his skin. Does he look …excited?

“You…you like it?”

“Fuck, Nines, this is the coolest thing I’ve seen all week! I can see everything, _all_ your shit.” Gavin looks up, meeting Nines’ hopeful gaze with a broad grin. “You’re one hell of a tin can.”

“And you’re one hell of a meat sack.”

Gavin frowns. “‘Meat sack?’”

“Would you prefer ‘flexible container of mostly water?’”

“Fuck off, tin can” Gavin grumbles, but his smile doesn’t waver for long. He drops Nines’ hand, going back to his side of the table.

“Whatever you say, Flexible Container of Mostly Water.”

Gavin balls up a piece of paper and throws it at his head. Nines catches it and throws it back.

“Hey!”

“Don’t start a fight you won’t win.”

“Oh, I’ll fucking show you—“

Mia ends up with plenty of paper balls to chase around the floor that evening.

**_Updating…_ **

**_Gavin: ~~Anti-Android~~_ **

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Come yell at me on tumblr while we're all in quarantine. 
> 
> https://a-small-batch-of-dragons.tumblr.com/


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